Magna Fortuna in his early months with mom Silver Option. They were known as Taxi and LuLu until it could be determined who LuLu really was. (Photo courtesy of Laura Donohoe)

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It was the second race at Hawthorne Race Course on a frigid afternoon in Chicago, with seven Illinois-bred maidens going to the post. But it could have been the Kentucky Derby for the partners in Rescue Me Racing, as their 3-year-old gelding Magna Fortuna led all the way for a 9 3/4-length victory Wednesday.

"I can't even describe it right now or I'll start crying again if I try," Laura Donohoe, the Bellarmine graduate turned Chicagoan who is co-founder of Rescue Me Racing, said by phone shortly after the race. "We're just so proud of him."